2020 Chevy Trax vs 2020 Honda HR-V

• 2020 Chevy Trax

  

  Starting at

  $21,300

  2020 Honda HR-V

  

  Starting at

  $20,920

  148	Standard Torque (lb-ft)	127
  Yes	Available Blind Spot Alerts	No
  Yes	Available OnStar Service	No

  The age of sport utility vehicles is upon us, which means there are more SUVs than ever before. These bold and versatile machines are flooding the market because every major car manufacturer in the world knows how popular they are. And it’s not just the midsize and large SUVs people are looking for. You might want a bigger SUV to bus the family and friends around, but compact SUVs are making their mark as well. Today, we’ll look at the 2020 Chevy Trax vs 2020 Honda HR-V, two compact SUVs from two of the world's biggest car manufacturers.

  But first, why are SUVs so popular? As vehicles have progressed and become more modern, they’ve also become widely available to the general public. Since most Americans these days drive some kind of automobile, we’ve come to expect more out of our cars. In fact, we’ve come to expect vehicles that function like your average car (i.e., get from points “A” to point “B”), but come with a lot more versatility attached to them. If we want to go off-roading, well, we want a vehicle that has those capabilities. Extra storage room and ground clearance are some nice bonuses, too. Even better, we want a high-quality interior that can transform within seconds to fit all of our adventure gear into it.

  This is why SUVs are so popular, especially compact SUVs. They’re just as easy to drive around as your normal sedan, but there’s a whole lot more packed into their small frames than you might expect. Both the 2020 Chevy Trax and 2020 Honda HR-V provide ample resources for you to leave the familiar pavement and journey elsewhere, but they’ll also function as your everyday commuters. The 2020 Chevy Trax, though, might have a few special features that pushes it to a level above the 2020 Honda HR-V.

  In this comparison, we’ll go over how each of these SUVs performs, how versatile they are, and what kinds of safety features you can expect.

• Performance

  

  These might not be racing vehicles, but performance is an essential factor in the makeup of any car, SUV, or truck. If a vehicle can’t perform what it’s designed to do, it’s not a very useful piece of machinery. Performance overviews typically boil down to what we can find under the hood of a car and how well that suits the car it’s propelling.

  How Do the Engines Compare?

  With the 2020 Chevy Trax, you get a 1.4L Turbo ECOTEC 4-cylinder engine that boasts 138 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. With the 2020 Honda HR-V, you get a 4-cylinder engine that produces up to 141 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque. Overall, these statistics are very similar. The HR-V edges the Trax with a slightly higher horsepower metric, but the Trax takes the lead with a substantial increase in torque.

  Chevy is known for producing vehicles that can produce high amounts of torque. Torque and horsepower are often confused because their end goal is similar, which is to increase the amount of power and speed your vehicle is capable of. Since the 2020 Chevy Trax has a much higher torque rating than the 2020 Honda HR-V, expect a more powerful ride. This may not be as important in a compact SUV compared to a vehicle like a truck, but it still matters.

  You never know what kind of weight you’ll be carrying around in your vehicle, including passengers and cargo. A bit more power coming out of your engine can make the ride a lot more comfortable and smooth for everyone inside. And a more comfortable and smooth ride means more fun for you.

  The above engines are the only engine options on these two vehicles. This is often the case with compact SUVs because they’re small enough that they don’t need more powerful options.

• Versatility

  

  If an SUV isn’t versatile, it’s not really an SUV, is it? That’s probably the main difference between an SUV and a car. Cars are known for their great mileage and everyday reliability, but SUVs can compete in those categories as well. When you have a compact SUV, they’re small enough to get above-average fuel economy ratings, plus they’re comfortable enough to drive on a daily basis.

  Fuel Economy Ratings

  For instance, both the 2020 Chevy Trax and 2020 Honda HR-V can achieve EPA-estimated ratings of above 30 MPG on the highway. This is typically a space reserved for compact and midsize sedans, but compact SUVs are in the mix as well, which easily illustrates how versatile they can be.

  Room for All Kinds of Cargo and Passengers

  Additionally, both of these vehicles have AWD capabilities and unique interior options to fit different sizes and dimensions of cargo. You never know what kind of cargo and equipment you’ll need to fit inside your vehicle, which is why the 2020 Chevy Trax has flat-folding seats for the front passenger seat and the second-row seats. This can allow you to fit longer items with ease when you’re headed off on a camping trip or simply moving things from one location to another.

  The 2020 Honda HR-V may have slightly more interior space than the 2020 Chevy Trax, but that’s not always the best thing to have. More interior space means more room for passengers and cargo, but it also means your vehicle is larger in general. Compact SUVs aren’t meant to be very big, which is why other types of SUVs exist. A compact SUV like the Chevy Trax can be easier to maneuver in certain situations, like parallel parking or navigating narrow trails.

• Safety

  

  Modern vehicles need to have appropriate safety standards set so drivers and passengers can feel comfortable and relaxed while driving. Of course, there are strict requirements and regulations in place that every vehicle must adhere to or they can’t be sold to the public. However, there are always features and additional options that manufacturers can add to their vehicles if they want to improve the overall safety experience for their customers. These features and options aren’t required, but they may as well be since there’s no real reason vehicles shouldn’t be safer.

  Safety Features on the 2020 Trax

  With the 2020 Chevy Trax, you get typical safety features like ten airbags, daytime running lamps, and a LATCH system for children’s car seats. For advanced safety features, you also have plenty of other available options:

  • Forward Collision Alert: You may be alerted if an imminent front-end collision is detected or if you’re following a detected vehicle too closely.
  • Lane Departure Warning: You may be alerted if you drift out of your lane when your turn signal isn’t activated. This can help prevent crashes from unintentional drifting.
  • Rear Cross Traffic Alert: You may be alerted to traffic crossing behind you when your vehicle is in reverse. This can be especially helpful when pulling out of parking spaces or driveways.
  • Rear Park Assist: You may be alerted to how far objects are away from the rear of your vehicle when you’re driving in reverse at low speeds. This can help you avoid objects while driving in reverse, possibly while parking.
  • Rear Vision Camera: Provides a view on your Infotainment screen of an area directly behind your vehicle.
  • Side Blind Zone Alert: You may receive side mirror alerts when moving vehicles are detected in a side blind spot.

  Safety Features on the 2020 HR-V

  The 2020 Honda HR-V has some similar features as well, but it doesn’t have anything like the Side Blind Zone Alert, which is unfortunate. Blind spots can be extremely dangerous, so it’s an added benefit to have this as an available feature. Also, the 2020 Chevy Trax has the option of Onstar, while the 2020 Honda HR-V does not. Onstar is a service that connects you with an Onstar Emergency-Certified Advisor. So if you’re ever in an unexpected situation, you can immediately reach out to the Onstar service straight from your vehicle to get some help.

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